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Important Techniques of Forensic Science
Important Techniques of Forensic Science
Important Techniques of Forensic Science
Introduction:
The nature of law is dynamic and not static, so the law also changes when
society change. The law is the cement of the society and the judiciary has
the responsibility of interpreting the law for the greater good. The
application of science and technology to the detection and investigation of
crime and administration of justice is not new to India.
Inspite of this many people are not aware from the fact that science plays an
important role in the identification of crime and criminals. The area of its
operation is quite wide and comprehensive .In its application to the
administration of law, it is known as “Forensic Science”.
Earlier it was forensic medicine, which first came to the field of the science
in as such as medical man’s opinion has been sought throughout the ages
to find out the cause of death of a person both in case of natural or of
unnatural death.
The area of forensic science is changing very fast by the new technologies
and methods. Nowadays use of DNA tests, high-performance liquid
chromatography, mass spectrometry, 3-D computer imaging, and other
sophisticated technologies are used by scientists to reconstruct the offence
and the mishap. The modern forensic science can differentiate trace element
and organic materials down to the level of merely a few hundred molecules.
The recent forensics can facilitate to expose concealed offense, convict the
guilty and vindicate the innocent if it exercises with care.
At present, multifaceted science plays an important role in recognizing
sufferers of offence, mishap, tragedy, and combat which provides assurance,
conclusion, and poignant support for bereaved’s survivors.
The characteristic of our criminal justice system is the attentive look for
reality. Our technique of inquiry, rules of criminal procedure and appellate
procedure are fundamentally designed to make certain that the responsible
are punished whereas the innocent are protected. However, while ours is a
system to be appreciated, it is not an ideal system, and those charged with
the administration of justice have a responsibility to seek its continued
improvement.
Science and law, two distinctive professions have more and more become
comingled, for making sure a fair procedure and to observe that justice is
done. Nowadays the legal system has to pact with new scientific proof on
many instances, which has posed profound challenges for the law. At basic
level, many of these challenges occur from fundamental differences between
the scientific and legal procedure.
The quandaries are self-evident. On one hand, scientific proof holds out the
alluring chance of tremendously precise fact-finding and a decrease in the
ambiguity that frequently accompanies legal decision-making.
Simultaneously, scientific methodologies often contain risks of ambiguity
which the legal system is unwilling to bear.
At present it is also very much related with scientific field. Forensic science
which is used to answer criminal question provides answer though the
comparison with, controlled substance, biological proof a firearms that may
be found at the site of the offence.
In Addition to this, with the help of trace proof and impression proof like
fingerprints, tire tracks and footwear impressions and all other proof that
may be found in a scene of offence, the required answers for criminal
examination can be found with the help forensic science.
The proof found on the site of the offence is generally produced in the crime
laboratory and it is this branch of forensic science that is used in the media
and shown in fiction stories and programs. Besides this, forensic science
has other disciplines.
In forensic engineering, one would be able to find out the cause for the
failure of a device or structure.
Odontology is the branch of forensic science which deals with the study of
teeth.
In the field of entomology, one finds out the outcome of insects found in, on
and around human remains with the help of this, it is feasible to find out
the location of death and time of death and if the body was moved after
death, the location of place. So it can be seen that forensic science plays an
effective role in solving the complicated and unsolved cases.
From the time immemorial crime has been a part of human society. The
requirement of law and various kinds of legislations was felt when crime
started the very existence of the human society.
There are various kinds of laws and regulation which fight against the
crimes in the society. Crime is both social and economic phenomenon, by
which whole human society gets distressed.
The nature of the crime has been also changing and diversifying with the
growth and development of the society. Presently, the guardian of law took
the help from many techniques and advancement of science for fighting
against crime.
Many advancement have taken place in the field of forensic science which
has been welcomed in the criminal investigation. Some of such
advancements are discussed below in brief. However, any discrepancies that
may have crept in are regretted.
It can be said that crime was present from time immemorial. Likewise, the
investigation and detection of crime is also quite old. With the advancement
of science and technology, the criminals have adopted new methods and
techniques for committing offence, but science also helped the investigating
authorities in their efforts to find out the criminals or real culprits .The
Forensic Science is one of advanced techniques used in recognizing crimes
and criminals.
The main functions of forensic science are the detection, collection, packing,
transportation and analysis of physical evidence and biological material etc.
1. Fingerprinting:
Though fingerprints have been used by the crime investigators for more
than a century, they persist one of the most requisite after pieces of
evidence. All human beings are born with a characteristic set of ridges on
the fingertips.
The ridges, which are rich in sweat pores, form a pattern that remains fixed
for life. Even if the skin is removed, the same pattern will be evident when
the skin regenerates. Some of the typical patterns found in fingerprints are
arches, loops, and whorls.
Oils from sweat glands collect on these ridges. When we touch something, a
small amount of the oils and other materials on the fingers are left on the
surface of the object we touched. The pattern left by these substances,
which collect along the ridges on our fingers, make up the fingerprints that
police look for at the scene of a crime.
It is the unique pattern made by these ridges that motivate the police to
record people's fingerprints. To take someone's fingerprints, the ends of the
person's fingers are first covered with ink.
The fingers are then rolled; one at a time, on a smooth surface to make an
imprint that can be preserved. Fingerprints collected as evidence can be
compared with fingerprints on file or taken from a suspect.
Everyone entering the military services, like the merchant marine, or any
other organizations are fingerprinted. The FBI maintains a fingerprint library
with patterns taken from more than 10% of the entire United States
population.
Many fingerprints found at crime scenes are not visible. These latent
(conceded) fingerprints, which are often incomplete, are obtained in various
ways. The oldest and most frequently used method is to use a powder such
as ninhydrin to dust the surface.
The powder sticks to the oily substances on the print making the pattern
visible. The print can then be photographed and lifted off the surface by
using a tape to which the powder adheres. To search for fingerprints on
porous materials such as paper, forensic technicians use fumes of iodine or
cyanoacry-late.
These fumes readily collect on the oils in the print pattern and can be
photographed. Since 1978, argon lasers have also been used to view latent
fingerprints. When illuminated by light from an argon laser, a latent print is
often quite visible. Visibility under laser light can be enhanced by first
dusting the print with a fluorescent fingerprint powder.
Fingerprints are not the only incriminating patterns that a criminal may
leave behind. Lip prints are frequently found on glasses. Footprints and the
soil left on the print may match those found in a search of an accused
person's premises.
Tire tracks, bite marks, toe prints, and prints left by bare feet may also
provide useful evidence. In cases where the identity of a victim is difficult
because of tissue decomposition or death caused by explosions or extremely
forceful collisions, a victim's teeth may be used for comparison with the
dental records of missing people.
Every coin has two sides. Every technology or knowledge created can be
used or misused by the user. But that cannot be used as a ground to reject
development of the knowledge. Thus scientific evidence is an inescapable
facet of modern litigation. The faulty analysis of scientific evidence would
deprive the litigants of intellectual due process from judges and undercut
the proper functioning and credibility of the judicial system. In USA, more
than 140 people convicted of murder were exonerated using DNA test. Isn’t
it sufficient to prove the development very useful?
Our criminal justice system says let hundred guilty one get away but let not
one innocent suffer. It’s high time for us to develop our system to the level
that none of the criminals get away without being punished for their crime
because when they are able to do so, their victims are being denied justice
and that frustrates the whole system.
Let’s hope all these developments of forensic science would be a sufficient
tool in the hands of the people fighting crime so as to arm them against it
and make the system work to establish more and more just and safe place
for people live in peace and prosperity.
Fingerprints are unique patterns of lines and ridges that exist on the areas
of our hands and fingertips, known as the plantar surfaces. These unique
patterns have been classified in categories and features since the late 1800’s
(Dass, 2016).
The various categories and features allow each digit of a person’s fingers to
be catalogued in a searchable system or database. These unique categories
and features do not change throughout a person’s life, unless they are
subjected to damage through physical injury or intentional abrasion.
The impressions of our fingerprints are often left on items we touch because
the oils our bodies produce act like an invisible ink adhering to smooth
surfaces we touch, thus transferring these fingerprint impressions to those
surfaces.
These virtually invisible image transfers are commonly called latent
fingerprints, and they are easily made visible on most surfaces through the
application of coloured fingerprinting powder that adheres to the oils left by
our fingers. The powder sticking to the oil reveals the image of lines and
ridges that make up the fingerprint. It is also possible for a fingerprint
impression to be exposed on surfaces, such as plastic, dry paper, or paint
though a process of chemical fuming that reacts with the oils of the
fingerprint changing their colour, thereby exposing the image.
2. Narco-Analysis Test:
This led Robert House to conclude that a person under the effect of
scopolamine cannot lie, because there is no reason or power to think.
His idea and experiment gained a lot of limelight and attention and
therefore led the beginning of Narco-Analysis in criminal investigation.
DNA was first discovered by Fredrick Micscher in the year 1869. Sir Alec J.
Jeffery discovered the use of DNA in forensic analysis in 1984 in England
and it was first used in the famous Endbury case wherein two girls were
raped and murdered.
Since then scientists have developed various techniques like RFLP and later
another technique was developed which is known as PCR.
PCR had advantages over RFLP as it takes lesser number of samples and
replicates them in manifolds. It is quicker and cost effective. It also enabled
to analyze highly degraded samples and therefore it is the most widely
followed method of DNA profiling. DNA tests are highly effective because
each individual’s DNA is unique except the twins.
The probability of DNA being same is one in three billion. And it is credible
because it cannot be tampered with.DNA test can be used in various cases
in order to such as to establish the parentage of a child, identify mutilated
dead bodies etc.
Paternity The raison d’être under the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, is against
the legitimization of a child and the public policy is that no child should
suffer due to lapses on the part of their parents. It is well established that
when certain fact is considered as conclusive proof of another fact, the
judiciary generally disables the party in disrupting such proof.
The only exception occurs when the party is able to show that there was no
access to the other party when the conception could have taken place.
Whenever paternity is contested, the burden of proof is on the party
pleading negative.
In the famous case of Gautam Kundu v West Bengal36 the apex court has
laid down certain note-worthy guidelines regarding DNA test and their
admissibility in the parentage case.
3. There must be strong prima facie case in which the husband must have
established non-access in order to dispel the presumption arising under
section 112 of Indian Evidence Act, 1872,
The famous 9/11 in U.S.A attack left none in any doubt about the great
capacity and capability of the criminals of that era found their modus
operandi used in the commission of such crime. Hence there is an urgent
need for modification of the crime investigation process and tools were felt.
The development of DNA is a welcome step and it has become more and
more reliable instrument. Unlike civil paternity case, Indian courts have
accepted the role of DNA in criminal paternity case. Likewise in Rajiv
Gandhi Murder Case , the DNA samples of alleged assassin Dhanu were
compared with her relatives, which gave conclusive proof about her being
involved in the gruesome attack.
Similarly in the famous Tandoor murder case, the DNA samples of the
victim Naina Sahni were compared with that of her parents to establish her
identity.
Thus, the guilty can be identified and the innocent can be cleared in an
accurate, scientific, objective, non-invasive, non-stressful, and non-
testimonial manner.
Ballistic Fingerprinting :
The pattern of scratches on the bullet matches those in the gun barrel. A
gun barrel with seven helical grooves, for example results in a pattern of
seven scratches on a bullet, fired from the gun. Since rifling pattern tends to
differ from weapon to weapon, the pattern they produce on bullets fired from
them tend to be distinctive, perhaps unique.
There are other new Forensic Science techniques which are helpful in the
field of forensic science.
It may also be used for checking cars exhaust fumes in future. This device
can suitably be adapted for preventive forensic application.
Psycholinguistic profile
It is a profile of a criminal based upon his written and spoken words and
texts used by the criminal. Competent Forensic Psychologist can draw a
fairly accurate descriptions of the possible criminal from the written or
spoken (or both) words.
Criminal Profiling
The guilty persons are non convicted by the courts and punished for their
acts. The traditional methods have not proved very fruitful in attaining the
required conviction rate. In recent years, due to the application of knowledge
and techniques of forensic science, there has been relatively higher increase
in the conviction of various crimes but still the conviction rate is not in
balance with the crimes committed.
Forensic Science in the investigation of crime and in the administration
justice is surely a versatile tool.
Along with the development of science and technology the pattern of our
society has also changed to cope with the day to day development.
Accordingly the criminal also often uses different techniques for the
commission of various crimes within our society.
So it has become a problem for the law enforcing agencies to check the
potentiality of crimes. For such checking, the need of forensic science
becomes an essential prerequisite on the part of the investigative agencies.
Considering the huge necessity and importance of forensic science, the
Govt. of India has established a few forensic science laboratories in the
different parts of our country.
Similarly the Govt. of various states have also established some forensic
science laboratories. For example, the Govt. of Assam has established a
forensic science laboratory at Guwahati. Forensic Science Laboratory,
Assam is a scientific institution under the Police Department established in
the year 1967.
Weapons used in burglary, arson, etc. different types of poisons and poisons
and poisonous substances, hair, skeletal remains and other plant or animal
remnants. Apart from these, forensic scientists also examine the forged
signatures and documents along with the photographic analysis of all
materials exhibits.
So far, the duties and role of forensic scientists in general have been
discussed. The role and nature of forensic scientist of different branches in
connection with their respective and specialized field of work shall also have
to be discussed. Let us discuss about the forensic physicists. Generally the
material exhibits which are obtained at the scene of crime are examined by
the scientists of this division.
They are also to determine the quality of liquor, opium, ganja and other
chemicals, analysis of explosive and the like. From their various methods of
analysis, they have to establish facts which are based upon which the
investigating officers can detect the clues of a particular crime. Forensic
biologists have also been playing an important and commendable role in
examining biological exhibits oriented with crime.
It is the biologist who has to analyze the material exhibit starting from a
micro organism to a higher plant or an animal and also their parts and
products. From the skeletal remains, a biologist has to determine the sex,
origin, stature, and age of the deceased. He is to identify from the skull by
using superimposition method and thereby help the investigating authority
in coming to a conclusion with the regard to a particular crime. In case of a
suspected death case, the biologist has to ascertain the cause of death. He
has also to analyze various poisonous plant materials in cases where plant
poison is administered in the commission of crimes.
A Serologist plays equally important role in establishing facts in respect of
various crimes. In case of a murder where knife and other weapons are
involved, it is the serologist who ascertains whether the particular weapon is
stained with human blood or not.
From the findings of a serologist, the investigating officer can get a definite
clue in a particular case, depending on which the investigating officer can
identify the culprit of the crime. It is the serologist who has to establish the
facts of disputed paternity cases by testing the blood group in question.
Now, with regard to the ballistic branch of forensic science it may be stated
that a ballistic expert is the only person who ascertains whether a particular
fire arm was used or not while committing a crime. He is also to examine the
types of fire arms and ammunitions used in commission of a crime. He has
also to establish the facts with regard to firing ranges, distance, direction,
and angle of firing.
After obtaining the opinion of a ballistic expert the investigating officers can
come to a reasonable conclusion in respect of a particular crime. Apart from
the different fire arms and ammunitions, a ballistic expert is also expected
to examine the explosive substances which are nowadays very often used for
committing heinous crimes.
A toxicologist determines the clues of the crime in which the poison is used.
In any such case, be it accidental, suicidal or intentional, a toxicologist
analyses the viscera and other relevant materials from which he establishes
the quality and quantity of the poison used.
From the report of a toxicologist, the investigating officer can usually obtain
vital clues for detecting the criminals involved. Similarly, the Court also gets
positive evidence for coming to a conclusion in any particular case. A
document expert examines the various types of documents directly or
indirectly involved in a forgery case.
The forgery cases may be of different types, but all these are examined by
the handwriting expert. From the report of a document examiner, the
investigating agency can definitely detect the real culprit of a particular
case.
As a matter of fact forensic scientists are playing a vital role in reducing the
potentiality of crime and also in determining the root causes of crime in our
society.
Thus it can be asserted that Forensic science is gaining solid ground in the
area of effective crime prevention, especially in the areas where more
sophisticated use of available technology is prevalent.
All it takes is high-level cooperation among nations that can help them deal
with criminality .It is apparent that cooperation will not be enough on its
own and this development will require a network of qualified forensic
laboratories spread over Europe. Forensic science laboratories need to be
better involved in the fight against crime.
Conclusion:
The Present World is the World of advance science and technology and of
new researches in every field. The rate at which the globe has progressed is
commendable. Advance technology has given the World an effective and
precise tool for the purpose of criminal investigation. Presently forensic
science plays vital role in crime and criminal detection. There are various
techniques relating with the important role in detection of crime. DNA
Profiling, Brain fingerprinting, Brain Mapping, Narco-Analysis, Polygraph
test, Forensic photography etc. are the important techniques in the field of
forensic science which play pivotal role in criminal investigation to find out
the crime and criminals. At today the investigating authority are employing
these effective modern techniques in solving the crime problems.
Students may also refer the following link to gain a better understanding of
the crime detection methods:
https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/criminalinvestigation/chapter/chapter-10-
forensic-sciences/